


Pig Tails and Root Beer

by kittykatknits



Series: Twenty Years of Summer [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Jon Is Not Related, Jonsa Summer Challenge, Starklings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 11:19:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11462499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittykatknits/pseuds/kittykatknits
Summary: Prompt: TravelWritten for Day 1 of the  S7 Jonsa Summer Challenge on Tumblr___Jon is having the loneliest summer ever, at least until he meets a little girl with red hair in pony tails who decides to be his friend. Jon thinks maybe summer isn't so bad after all.This story is the first in a five part series showing the changing relationship between Jon and Sansa over a twenty year period.





	Pig Tails and Root Beer

“Hey mom, can Ghost and I go down to the lake?”  **  
**

Lyanna Snow sat at the kitchen table of the small cabin she’d rented for the summer, hands on the keyboard of her laptop. She hummed an acknowledgement before giving a mumbled “Have a good time.” Her eyes never left the screen.

Jon followed the trail from their cabin down to the edge of Long Lake. It was so big, he couldn’t even see the other side. He grabbed a handful of small pebbles and began to throw them in the water, one after another.

“I’m bored, Ghost. I bet you are too.” They had been at the cabin for six days now and Jon thought each one of them would never end. His mom was writing her story all the time and his friends were back in the city. Jon didn’t think it would be so bad if his friend Sam had come with.

He sat on the damp ground by the water’s edge, the moisture was already seeping into his jeans but Jon didn’t care. He threw the last pebble in the water and held out his hand, waiting for Ghost to place a front paw in it so they could shake. “You’re my best friend.” His dog only gave a tentative lick of his cheek in answer. Ghost hardly ever made a sound.

A sudden rush of activity and the ruckus of several voices talking over each other drew his attention to the cabin next door. He’d snuck over to the property a couple times and peeked in the windows before but it was just a boring cabin, a kitchen and some bedrooms.

It was a family. One looked to be a boy his age. A little girl with red hair in a ponytail was chasing after a toddler in diapers and laughing. Another girl with dark hair like his came over and they began to argue with each other, Jon wished he could hear why. Then, a man appeared and their yelling stopped. Jon guessed it was their dad.

“Do you think their dad takes his vacations with them?” He asked Ghost.

His dog only nuzzled into his lap. Jon scratched his ears.

He didn’t have anything better to do so he watched the family next door. It was four kids and the baby. They seemed to be playing some sort of game with the little toddler running around between them all, laughing. They never noticed him.

“Come on, Ghost. Let’s go inside and look at our comic books again.” He stood and wiped the bit of dirt that clung to his jeans before heading back into the smaller cabin he shared with his mom.

That night, the family next door built a fire in their yard, close to the water. He could hear them singing and talking together.

“Hey mom?”

“What is it, sweetie?” She was still sitting at the kitchen table,

Jon wanted to ask if his father would come visit soon but he knew it would only upset her. “I hope your writing was good today.”

His mom had dragged him up to Long Lake for the summer because she said it was easier to write outside of the city. He didn’t know what that meant.

She took her hands off the keyboard and looked at him. “I’ve barely paid attention to you today, haven’t I? This place came with a bunch of board games, let’s play one together.”

They made hot chocolate and played games together. Jon didn’t have a big family like the people next door but he had his mom and Ghost and they loved each other.

The next morning, Jon was back outside and playing fetch with Ghost when the little red-haired girl approached him. Close up, she was almost as tall as him.

“Hi. I’m Sansa Stark and I’m eight. How old are you?”

He pet Ghost, feeling suddenly shy. “I’m Jon Snow and I’m ten. This is Ghost.”

“Can I pet him?” She did not wait for an answer, bending down to rub and pet his dog. “My brother Robb is ten. My sister is Arya and my other brother is Bran. The baby is Rickon. Are you here all summer like us?”

“Yeah, my mom thought it would be a nice vacation.” Jon didn’t want to tell her that it was just the two of them. His mom had not admitted it but he knew his parents were going to get a divorce soon.

“You should come play with us. I’m the princess and my brothers are rescuing me from an evil dragon. My brother Robb is my knight in shining armor. You can be one too, if you want.”

Jon’s eyes brightened with excitement. He hadn’t seen any other kids his age in over a week. “I would like that. Dragons are awful. They burn people and eat them.”

She gave him a bright smile then. Jon thought she looked pretty for a girl. “In a couple days, my parents are taking us to this place where they used to make a cowboy show. It’s got hay rides and you can drink all the root beer you want. You should come with us.”

He thought that would be fun too but Jon didn’t think her parents would want him. “Would your mom and dad let me?”

She pulled at his hand, dragging him towards her brothers and sister. “Of course. My dad tells us that our family is like a bunch of wolves. We’re a pack and it’s good to let people be a part of it. My friend Jeyne is. Robb’s friend Theon is a part of our pack too, even if he isn’t a Stark.”

Jon liked that, he’d never been part of a pack before.

Sansa led him into her family’s yard where the rest of them played. He felt like all of them were staring at him. Jon began to grow uncomfortable again.

“Hi, I’m Robb. Who are you?” The boy had a darker shade of hair than Sansa, more brown than red.

“I’m Jon Snow and I’m staying next door.”

“Do you like to play with Legos?”

Jon lit up. “I love Legos,” he said excitedly. “I brought some with me to play with this summer.”

Robb nodded his head approvingly. “Sansa is the princess we are rescuing. Arya is the dragon. You want to play with us?”

“I told Jon he could come with us to the cowboy place.” She looked at him. “You should have dinner here tonight with us too.”

“We have to ask mom and dad first,” Robb pointed out. He turned his head, yelling, “Daaaaddd” in the general direction of their cabin.

A man walked out the back door, it was the same that Jon had seen yesterday. “Robb, I could have heard you from a mile away,” he said, approaching them. He had dark hair and grey eyes just like Jon.

It was Sansa who introduced him. “Dad, this is our new friend Jon. He’s going to play with us. I already told him he should come to dinner tonight and I want him to come to the cowboy place with us. It has all the root beer you can drink, you said so.”

“So I did.” He stuck out his hand. “Hello, Jon. I’m Ned Stark, it’s nice to meet you. Where are you staying?”

Jon took his hand and shook it. “Hi, Mr. Stark. I’m staying next door with my mom and my dog Ghost.”

“Ghost, is it?”

His dog had followed along, tail wagging at the mention of his name. The younger boy, Jon thought it was Bran, began petting him.

“Well, Jon. I’ll ask my wife to go talk to your mom. Why don’t you both come over for dinner  tonight. We’re having a cookout. We can talk to her about you coming with us. If she is ok with it, we would be glad to have you along. What’s her name?”

“Lyanna Snow, sir.”

“You don’t have to call him sir if you don’t want to, he’s just our dad,” Sansa explained helpfully.

Mr. Stark only laughed before telling them to have fun and heading back into their house. Jon decided he liked Mr. Stark immensely.

He spent the rest of the day playing with the rest of the Starks. After several games of princesses and knights, water guns suddenly appeared. They filled them all up with water from the lake and squirted at each other until all of them were soaking. That night, Jon filled up on hot dogs and ice cream. He could not remember the last time he had so much fun.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone is curious, the cowboy place with root beer that Sansa talks about is the Ponderosa by Lake Tahoe. The old show Bonanza was made there.


End file.
